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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With a chance to start over and maybe drive in any series he wanted, Juan
Pablo Montoya thought long and hard about what mattered most at this stage of his career.

The answer was simple: winning. So when a team owner synonymous with winning put an offer in
front of him, Montoya snapped up the opportunity. He will leave NASCAR behind for a return to
open-wheel to drive for Roger Penske — the IndyCar Series rival of Montoya’s longtime boss, Chip
Ganassi.

“He’s very excited for me,” Montoya said yesterday after texting with Ganassi, who is in Europe.
“Something that we have with Chip is that we’re very good friends. We have a lot of respect for
each other. He had to make a decision this year to go in a different direction. I had to do the
same thing.

“My No. 1 choice was going to be in a winning car. I really wanted to be in a winning car,”
Montoya added. “It came down to I wanted to race for Roger. In a way, it’s always been one of my
dreams to be able to be part of his organization. Being here, it’s unbelievable. I’m so excited. I’m
like a 5-year-old kid right now.”

Some also could consider the move a big piece of gamesmanship in the racing rivalry that spans
two series between Ganassi and Penske. Penske driver Helio Castroneves and Ganassi driver Scott
Dixon are locked in a fierce fight for the IndyCar title, and the competition has heated up over
the previous two races as Dixon has been involved in incidents with Power and the Penske
organization.

“He’s a great driver and deserves a great drive,” Ganassi told the Associated Press about
Montoya. “He will have that there at Penske Racing.”

Montoya won the 1999 CART title, the 2000 Indianapolis 500 and 11 races as an open-wheel driver
for Ganassi. He then moved to Formula One, where he had seven victories, before reuniting with
Ganassi again in 2006 to compete in NASCAR.

But results in NASCAR have been sporadic. Montoya has just two victories in 244 career starts,
and his best season finish was eighth in 2009. He’s 20th in the standings this season.